At least one member per household covering 29 barangays in the city participated in the expanded swab testing on Thursday as health workers took turns in getting swab samples.

After an hour of waiting, Jezreel Jan Bagcal, 21, of Barangay 9 Sta. Angela, made a sigh of relief as he approached the finished line and went home immediately.

Over the past few days, Bagcal has been anxious because his mom had been on home quarantine for 12 days already. Locked in a room, her children would only knock on the door when they serve her meals.

Though she tested negative, the Provincial Health Task Force advised those who have undergone reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test to complete the 14-day quarantine if they are exposed to a person confirmed with coronavirus disease (Covid-19) infection.

When the city government announced there is a free mass swab testing for all residents, Bagcal was the first to arrive at the swabbing station on Thursday, just to ascertain he has not contracted the virus.

Like Bagcal and all other city residents who were taken samples, they hope that the result will turn out negative and that the Covid-19 outbreak will end soon.

The swab result is expected to be released after 48 hours.

“At this time of crisis, we need everyone’s cooperation. So we are trying to mobilize more agencies to conduct the expanded testing for Laoag residents,” said Dr. Norman Rabago, provincial consultant for Covid-19 in Ilocos Norte.

Earlier, Rabago said health workers have been going house-to-house to get swab samples of those who were identified as close contacts of previous cases but several people refused to cooperate.

Rabago said they set up swabbing stations in villages and offer swab testing for free.

The next day, the number of people wanting to get tested became overwhelming. They have set schedules per clustered barangays to manage the crowd and ensure that minimum health protocols are followed.

Rabago said the free mass swab testing will continue until they will be able to cover at least 10 percent of the total population per barangay to determine the extent of the outbreak in Laoag.

Last November 27, the city was placed under localized modified enhanced community quarantine due to a spike of Covid-19 cases. (PNA)